Embers of Embers

Chapter 417 Stealing the Country
Everyone was getting along happily, sharing the Holy Communion, and praising the gods. Hu Ao felt that he had completely integrated into it. He had never felt so happy, as if the pain and suffering he had suffered for so many years were all for this day.
On this not-so-special day, his god finally showed him kindness.
"Yes, yes, that's the tune."
Liya directed Huao and taught him to hum the melody.
Huao really had no musical talent. He once tried to sing the barcarolle with the sailors, but the guys warned him that if he sang along again, he would be thrown into the sea.
Huao was lost for a long time at that time.
"That's it."
Lea said and started humming.
This is an ancient, long-forgotten melody, a melody without a name, but it seems to have magic power. Although Liya's singing is also very jerky, and there is no famous performance to match it, Hu Ao feels it inexplicably for some reason. It felt a little sacred, and I couldn't help but revere it in my heart.
This melody even alarmed Hercule, who had been observing these people. To be honest, Hercule could not find any useful information. If the action did not involve this sect, just relying on Liya’s description, Hercule would find this sect not so objectionable.
This is a pretty good sect. There is food and drink, and everyone is like a family. Looking back on the decadent Evangelical Church, Hercule thought that maybe in the early days, the Evangelical Church should have been like this.
However... everything must have a price. Hercule does not believe that this Orthodox Church will not ask for nothing, but if you think about it carefully, these people have no value at all. What price can they pay and what benefits can they gain? .
But while he was thinking, a familiar melody sounded, and Hercule slowly turned his head and looked at the girl beside him.
"What song is this."
Hercule looked serious.
"Holy...hymn."
Seeing Hercule's serious look, Liya answered directly.
"hymn?"
It's not a name, it's a category, so to speak. Hercule could pull out a huge book of hymns from the church.
"Probably, I don't know. Anyway, I learned this from the mouths of the cardinals."
Liya replied, looking at Hercule's appearance, she felt a little scared.
Hercule probably realized his problem. He sorted out his emotions and continued.
"Don't be afraid...it's just that I have a friend who also knows this melody. I'm surprised to hear it here."
"Is that so?" Liya became lively again, "Then that friend of yours should also be a believer in Orthodoxy. After all, only the cardinals seem to know this, and I also learned it secretly...Wait a minute, isn't your friend also a cardinal? Probably at your level."
The way Liya looked at Hercule suddenly changed. Hercule was too lazy to answer these questions and continued to ask.
"You mean Cardinal? Which Cardinal did you learn this from?"
Liya fell silent for a moment, but Hercule was not ready to let the little girl go easily. He put pressure on the girl with an expressionless face.
"Okay, okay, don't tell others, I often work as a volunteer here. One time I met a believer by chance, and he was humming this song at the time."
In my memory, the cardinal walked forward in the sunshine, humming an ancient melody.
"Actually, I don't know if he is a Cardinal. After all, he is a big shot. How could I know him? But he is wearing a red robe... isn't that what they say? Only those wearing red are Cardinals. So I think that person should also be a Cardinal."
Liya said as she stuffed something into her mouth.
"So what does he look like?" Hercule then asked.
"Like?"
Liya stopped, thought for a moment, and shook her head.
"I didn't see what he looked like because the guy was wearing a mask, a black mask."
Speaking of this, Liya's expression also changed slightly. Recalling the black mask, Liya felt that it might not be a mask, but a squirming darkness, just like facing the night.
"Is that so..."
Hercule fell silent, wondering what he was thinking.
He recognized the melody that Liya was humming, this nameless hymn.
It was also sung by another person, and that guy was named Lorenzo Holmes. Hercule still remembered the scene when he taught Lorenzo the Memory Palace. This madman did not know that in his own dark He found something in his memory, and when he woke up he was like a furious beast.
After venting his anger, Lorenzo just slumped in the corner, his eyes empty, and he was humming this melody at that time.
"It's time for me to go, Holy Communion was nice."
Hercule stood up and said to Liya.
"Eh? So fast?"
Lea tries to keep Hercule.
"I will... come again, Orthodoxy is very good."
Hercule comforted him, got up and left.
Sure enough, the most reliable person is myself. You can find clues by wandering around like this. You have to rely on this to knock Lorenzo off.
Although he was thinking happily, there were still dark clouds in Hercule's eyes that could not be dispelled. This incident was related to Lorenzo's past. After experiencing so much, Hercule knew very well that once this ghost Something related to Lorenzo’s ulterior past...
Think about the ending of Black Mountain Hospital. Such a large airship crashed on the ridge. The aftermath caused by it has not been completely cleaned up by the scavengers to this day.
Hercule took a deep breath, thinking about whether to escape back to Inverg overnight.
……
"Praise God, praise the Father, praise this beautiful world."
The priest continued to recite on the stage. He looked very absorbed, but it was not clear whether the people who were eating below were listening to him. At least he did prove his piety to God, or those who were watching all this. people.
There is a hidden second-floor grandstand above the underground hall, but there are no lights on here, so no one can distinguish it from the darkness.
Currie was sitting on it, shrouded in darkness.
He looked at the laughing crowd below. Each of them had a sincere smile on their face, and they prayed together for the delicious food.
A contemptuous smile appeared on his pale face, Corey was like a shepherd, and those people were his sheep.
"Cory Ferey."
A steady voice sounded from the darkness behind. Corey turned around and saw a man walking out of the darkness.
He was wearing a blood-red robe, and his face was covered by a pitch-black mask. Observing in this dark environment, it was difficult for Curry to identify his mask. At the first sight of meeting him, he even had the idea that there was nothing underneath the red robe. People's illusion is as if some ghost is lifting it up.
"Dean Lawrence, I can call you that, right?"
Corey asked, facing this mysterious existence, he had no fear at all.
"Okay, the name is not important."
Lawrence's voice came from under the mask. He sat on the other side of Curry and looked at the crowd below.
"So, has the time been set?" Lawrence asked.
"Already notified Cardinal Miguel."
"That's good."
After he stopped speaking, Lawrence seemed to be about to get up and leave, but before he could do so, he was stopped by Corey.
"Wait a minute, Dean Lawrence."
Corey shouted, looking directly at the silent mask and speaking slowly.
"President Lawrence, once one of the cardinals of the Evangelical Church, once the dean of the Demon Hunting Order, and now the dean of the choir."
Still silent, Curry felt the gaze from under the mask.
"Nothing else, I just want to get to know you. After all, I am really curious about what method you used to make the king trust you so much, and even said that you would speed up all this process, establish a choir, form an army, and orthodox religion. Ascension to the throne..."
Corey couldn't help but shook his head.
"I have spent more than ten years failing to impress the king to make all this happen, but your arrival is like pressing the accelerator button, and one difficult thing is completed one after another. In just a few months, everything has been done." I estimate that it may take several years to complete.”
"What do you want to say?"
Lawrence replied, perhaps because of the mask, his voice was dull and irony.
"My whole life has been dedicated to Gaulonaro, but now a stranger has broken into my home. How do I know whether he will burn it all to the ground?"
Corey's voice was calm.
There was no cover-up, and the atmosphere became solemn.
Staring at the gaps between the masks, Corey knew very well that under the darkness were Lawrence's eyes. The darkness was trembling little by little, like countless snakes entangled in it, with scales rubbing against each other. , making a frightening rustle.
"But these are not important, Lawrence. Instead, I want to thank you, a stranger."
Corey smiled again, his expression unreadable, like a cold snake.
"Thank me?"
Lawrence also didn't understand this sudden change.
"Thank you for making this possible, Lawrence. Without you, according to my plan, I would have to find a way to kill the king lying on the hospital bed, and then gradually evade Connell, who is a weak child. He will obey me."
Corey stood up and walked into the darkness, took down a bottle of wine from the wine rack, and poured a glass each for himself and Lawrence.
"But that would take too long. It could be years or decades, and there would be countless changes during this period. After all, those ministers have long disliked me. They have lived for so long and are deeply entrenched in power. within the system.
I haven't been able to confront them head-on. After all, I'm just the director of the Iron Law Bureau. Maybe if I make a mistake, I will die in an assassination. "
Corey pushed the glass to Lawrence, and he drank by himself.
"But I can still live for a long time, even though they want to kill me..."
Corey thought of something and said mockingly.
"I am just a dog, a ferocious dog, so ferocious that it may bite its owner. The owner is also afraid of me, but there is nothing I can do. Other dogs will be frightened and shrink their tails when they hear the enemy's roar, but only I'll rush in and bite their throats out."
"Interesting, I thought you were a fervent patriot."
Lawrence did not touch the wine glass, but looked at Corey. He felt that this guy was becoming interesting, and he actually talked about such treasonous things as subverting the kingdom in front of him.
This kind of thing should not be talked about randomly, let alone coming from the mouth of the director of the Iron Law Bureau. This is a terrible secret, and now that Lawrence knows it, he is very curious about what will happen next.
"I am indeed a patriot. I love this land and this country, but as for whether it is you or the Garrel family that rules this country, I don't care. All I care about is this land and my purpose."
Corey sat back in his seat.
Lawrence was stunned. To be honest, after experiencing so many things, few things could hit his heart, but what Corey said just now made him completely dull.
"Are you...serious? Corey Feyre."
"I'm serious. Do you think I'm someone who can joke?"
Corey smiled, but then turned serious.
"So I want to know, Dean Lawrence, what do you want? Wealth, power, or something else?"
"save the world."
Lawrence replied.
"Oh, is that so? Is Gaul Naluo included in your rescue?"
The conversation became more and more outrageous. Currie did not question Lawrence's so-called "saving the world" at all. He seemed to completely believe Lawrence.
"For the survival of all humanity, of course."
"In that case, we can indeed talk about it. What do you think? Dean Lawrence."
Lawrence didn't speak. After a long time, he slowly raised his hand, and then slowly took off his mask. Behind the mask was a young and fair face, with a neutral look overall. If Corey hadn't known Lawrence His identity is such that others can't even tell his gender when they first see him.
"Oh, I didn't expect Dean Lawrence to be so young." Corey said calmly.
"You don't look surprised."
Lawrence placed the mask on the table. Perhaps it was because he hadn't taken off the mask for so long that he actually felt a little uncomfortable.
"I thought there was another mask underneath the mask," Currie said.
Lawrence smiled and answered with a complicated meaning.
"It's really another mask."
"So it looks like you're ready to seriously talk about this plan to steal the country?"
Corey sat upright.
"No, wait a minute, Corey, I'm curious about you."
Lawrence was not in a hurry to continue talking. He looked at the guy in front of him and felt a little joy in his heart.
It’s been a long time since anyone could give me such a feeling, that kind of mystery that is difficult to peep into. If he wasn’t curious about Corey’s next conversation, Lawrence would really want to invade his [gap] to see what this guy is doing. Think about something.
"What are you curious about? Such a bland response? I just don't think it's important."
Corey had seemed extremely calm from just now. He knew very well that at Lawrence's age, it was impossible for him to look this young, and he had been wearing a mask probably to hide this from others.
If you think about it carefully, this is a very tempting ability, as if you can gain eternal life, but Corey is not affected at all and does not care about it.
"From the time you showed the technique called Secret Blood, I knew that I wouldn't be surprised if anything happened to you, let alone regaining your youth," Corey said. "I also understand that that is The power of 'miracle', and only that power can help me achieve my goal."
"So what do you want from me? Corey Feyre."
Lawrence wanted to know, what did the man in front of him want to do at all costs?
It was a transaction, a sudden transaction.
Corey did not hesitate, as if this sentence had been rehearsed countless times in his heart.
He replied.
"Destroy the evangelical church and kill all faith."
(End of this chapter)